Harry Potter and the Fourth Test
by Hairy Otter
Summary: When Harry goes on a Bulgarian vacation, he meets a likely foe, an unexpected friend, and unwanted pain.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, the characters in it, or anything of that sort. Okay. for the story. Enjoy.  
  
* * * * * * * * * Chapter 1 - Six More Days * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harry leaned out of his window, feeling the summer night's breeze brush across his skin. A shiver went down his spine. A small hoot from behind him alerted him that Hedwig, his snowy-white owl, wanted out of his cage. He poked his finger in the cage, and Hedwig nipped him with his beak. Harry hadn't talked to Sirius for a while, and decided he would send Hedwig to his exiled Godfather and tell him what was happening.  
  
Dear Sirius, It seems like August 3rd won't come soon enough. I can't wait! That's when Ron is coming to pick me up so we can go to Bulgaria to visit his brother. Even though it is still six days away, I have every thing packed, and I sent them a letter telling them not to come by Floo powder, so instead, Mr. Weasley got a company car and they will pick me up.  
  
How have you been? I haven't heard from you in two weeks, and began to get worried, so I am just checking in. I hope you and Beaky are doing well together. Well, I'll talk to you later; I'm going to bed. Stay safe!  
  
Love, Harry  
  
Hedwig stood there patiently as Harry tied the letter to his foot, and he hooted in appreciation for the delivery. Hedwig hated being caged up for long periods of time, and was becoming quite restless. He took a last gulp of water, fluttered his wings, and took off. Harry watched him fly away until he was lost in the stars. Harry shut his window, took off his sweater, and crawled in to bed; only 6 more days. He pulled his sheets over his head, rolled over, and dozed off.  
  
As Harry awoke the next day, it was to Dudley, his obese cousin, banging at his door. "Harry! Open your door!" He got up, and cracked open his door. "What do you want, fatty?" "You have to cook us breakfast, and I'm getting hungry!" Harry grunted, and closed his door. As he put on a hand-me-down shirt, he headed down stairs. He heard Dudley exclaim to his mother, Petunia, "Harry called me fat!! Mommy, will you take away his breakfast?"  
  
For some reason, Dudley thought taking Harry's food was the best way to make him suffer, but, now, every summer, Mrs. Weasley and Hermione each sent a parcel to him full of cookies, donuts, and meat pies. Mrs. Weasley's cooking was his favorite, and her minced beef pies were enough to sustain him for the summer.  
  
"Harry, don't call Dudley fat, or else you wont be going with your friend later this summer! Its not his fault, he's a growing boy!" He's growing all right; soon, Uncle Vernon will have to look at new beds for the brute, he thought. As Harry grinned to himself, he pulled out a pan and started to fry some eggs. Dudley waited impatiently at the table, yelling at Harry to hurry up. Petunia tried to comfort him by putting a glass of chocolate milk in front of him.  
  
As Harry forked over two eggs to each of their plates, Dudley sneered at him. Harry thought, the day he can perform magic out of school without getting in trouble is the day Dudley will pay. He wiped the grease out of the pan, put it in their dishwasher, and strode upstairs. Just as he walked in his room, he noticed something zooming right towards him. A tennis ball sized creature, gray feathers, he recognized it to be Pig, Ron's owl. He pulled the letter off it's leg, and propped it on the bar inside Hedwig's cage. He sat down at his desk as he carefully opened the letter. It read -  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
How has your summer been? Muggles feeding you all right? Hope their treating you well. Well, we have it all arranged! We will pick you up at 6 AM on August 3rd, and head back to the Burrow. We will spend two or three days there, and then we will go visit Charlie by Floo. This is going to be the best vacation ever! We will stop in London before so you can pick up some money, and were going to do our school shopping, just in case the vacation goes on longer then expected. See You In A Week, Ron  
  
Well, five days until he escapes here for another year. What should he do? Trunk packed, owl gone. Time to start summer homework. He pried up the loose floorboard from his room and took out the remainder of a box of donuts Hermione sent him. The donuts were going stale, considering they were about two weeks old, but the sugar tasted nice compared to his burnt rubbish the Dursleys gave him for breakfast. As he took a bite out of a chocolate donut, he thought what they might do in Bulgaria. Ron said there were ancient wizarding villages there. Maybe some would be something like Hogsmeade, only with merchandise from that country. He thought to himself he would take out a lot of gold from his vault at Gringott's. Maybe 50 galleons, and with that much, he could buy the Weasley's a nice present. They were, after all, rescuing him from hell. 


	2. Back to the Burrow

********* Chapter 2 - Back to the Burrow *********  
  
The sun burst through Harry's window the next morning, waking him up at dawn. Sitting up and putting on his glasses, Harry realized that August 3 was finally here. His first real vacation, and with all the people he loved. He opened his dresser, and took out a brilliant sweater with a lion on it. Mrs. Weasley gave him this sweater one Christmas, and he was happy for it, because it was one of the few things Harry had that fit.  
  
Throwing on some old jeans, he headed downstairs, where a showered and ready for work Uncle Vernon sat, eating his breakfast. Aunt Petunia was hovering around the stove, making French toast and eggs for Dudley, who was calling for his mommy from his bedroom. "Yes, Dud Dud, your food is almost ready! Ill bring it up to you on a nice plate, okay?" It always sickened Harry how Petunia waited on this fat pig all the time.  
  
Right as he sat down, the doorbell rang. Not expecting that Mr. Weasley would ever let his boys come into the house again, Harry rushed to the door to see who had come. He opened the door, and to his surprise, was Hermione! "Harry! I've missed you so! Happy birthday!" And she embraced him in a hug. "Hermione, I didn't know you were already with the Weasley's. Hold on, let me get my trunk." And at that, Harry ran upstairs.  
  
Thankful that Hermione was raised a muggle, she knew not to come in the house and talk to the Dursleys, since she understood their resentment for wizarding folk. Harry handed her Hedwig in his cage, as he dragged his heavy Hogwarts trunk out to the car, which blended in nicely to the surroundings. In the back seat, he saw Ron, who if possible, got even taller, and Mr. Weasley, both wearing their interpretations of muggle clothing; Ron in a giant t-shirt depicting a football team, and Mr. Weasley in a tweed jacket and sweat pants.  
  
"Good to see ya, Harry! Here, lets get going. As a surprise, I got a broom this summer, so we can get home and play some quidditch!" As they loaded his belongings into the car, they chatted about the first half of their summer, and what they were going to do in Bulgaria. The car pulled away from Privet Drive, and for the first time all summer, Harry could exhale.  
  
As they drove in the front of the Weasley's house, which was Harry's #2 favorite place in the world, Ron told him that his parents got him a used Nimbus 2001, still a very legitimate broom, but a tad old. Ron also told him that his dad got a raise at work, so each of the Weasley's got something special, capped off with their vacation. The whole family appeared to be in high spirits.  
  
That evening, Mrs. Weasley with Hermione's help prepared a great dinner of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, and lime pie. In the yard, Harry and Ron, against Fred and George played a game of quidditch. Harry played chaser and Ron played keeper. They didn't play with the snitch because there weren't enough people. Fred and George ended up winning 80-60 when Ginny called them in for dinner. They ate and the whole family conversed together. It was very relaxing, and Harry caught up on all the wizarding news of the first half of the summer. Now that Fred and George were finished at Hogwarts, and Harry gave them the prize money from the Tri-Wizard tournament last year, they were planning their joke shop, which Mrs. Weasley was disappointed in, ("You two could do something good, like work for the ministry!") But Fred and George decided long ago this was their calling.  
  
At ten o-clock that night, Ron, Harry, and Hermione headed upstairs to go to sleep. They unraveled sleeping bags on Ron's bedroom floor, and talked. After about 20 minutes they dozed off, only to wake up too soon. 


End file.
